


The Dissolution of Defense Mechanisms

by WakeUpDreaming



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Defense Mechanisms, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Post 2x23, Proposal Talk, Ralph is Quintis ship cocaptain, References to childhood trauma, References to statutory rape, deep talks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 07:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6602650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WakeUpDreaming/pseuds/WakeUpDreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team gets back to the garage, to Toby's relief, but Happy's got something she needs to talk to Toby about, and it has to do with a particular one line bomb dropped when they were in Chernobyl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dissolution of Defense Mechanisms

Happy walks through the door and the absolute relief that washes over Toby’s body almost knocks him out. He always forgets how much he hates it when he’s not with the rest of the team, especially Happy. It seems that every time there's a medical concern, Toby's out of commission or off the job. It's starting to annoy him.

“You’re all okay?” he says, checking in on all of them. “How are you all okay?”

“Radiation poisoning doesn’t show its affects for a few years,” Happy deadpans with an eye roll.

Toby points at her. “I know you’re kidding, but no joking about that.”

“Speaking of radiation,” Walter says, dropping his bag on the couch, “I have the perfect solution.”

“I hate his perfect solutions,” Sylvester says, looking skeptical. “His last perfect solution nearly got us killed.”

“Most of his perfect solutions nearly get us killed,” Paige replies. “And we’re not dead yet, so.”

Toby holds back the impulse to take Happy’s hand, just to prove to himself that she’s here and okay and real.

And then she looks at him, and something that worries him is in her expression. “Hey, can I,” she frowns, “can I talk to you a minute?”

“What’d I do?” Toby asks, following her. The rest of the team moves to their respective corners while Happy walks just outside the doors, looking less determined than she usually is when she’s pissed at him. “Whatever it is, I swear -" he begins. And then it hits him - she knows. How could she not have figured out he’s planning a proposal? She’s the smartest person he’s met, screw Walter. She’s everything. And she’s saying no. “Please, don’t be –”

“Were you joking earlier?” she interrupts.

“When?” Toby asks. “I’m frequently joking, it’s part of my charm.” He tries for a smile. It doesn’t affect her, and that’s when he really starts to worry. “Happy?” he asks, softening his voice. “What do you mean?”

“That showgirl,” she says, and she’s fiddling with her fingertips, wringing her wrists. Somethings seriously wrong. “When you said a showgirl ‘made you a man.’”

“I wasn't - that happened,” Toby replies, unsure of where this is going.

“Because that’s kind of a shitty joke to make.”

He blinks. “What?”

“I just,” she exhales, “look, I know you had a better childhood than mine, and you don’t really get it, but that kind of stuff really –”

“I wasn’t joking,” Toby says, and he’s barely understanding. “You know how I work. Humor to cope and all that. But, yeah. That’s what happened.”

She stares at him. “Where the hell were your parents?” And if they weren’t talking about this, if Toby was talking to her about anything else, he might be pleased that Happy is concerned about him.

“Mom was home, sick,” Toby replies, shrugging. “And I was a sixteen year old kid left alone in a casino because my dad was killing it at blackjack.” He tries to shake off the feeling of abandonment that creeps up whenever he remembers that weekend. "And the showgirl took a liking to me."

Toby can’t decipher the way Happy’s looking at him. He’s not used to this, being unable to read a person, but it’s something he usually likes best about Happy. But right now, it scares him. Because there’s a lot behind her eyes he can’t understand. “That’s terrifying,” she finally says, like the words were dragged out of her.

The familiar feeling crawls up his spine, the one when he thinks about exactly how that night – hour and a half, really – happened, and he tries to push it away. And then he realizes that this is Happy. She’s opened up enough that she deserves to know him. “It was,” he finally admits. “Terrifying, I mean. After it all happened. I was a kid, so at first I acted like it was this huge triumph, you know?” He stops, because he’s moved past this, he’s okay, but it’s still hard to talk about it. “And then, a few days later, it started to freak me out because…” He trails off and shrugs. “Well, I was a kid, and she wasn’t.”

Happy looks at him for a minute, almost like she’s studying his face, and then leans in and wraps him in the tightest hug he could imagine. Toby’s startled for a minute, because they’re at work and this is incredibly un-Happy-like, but he holds onto her, arms wrapped around her to try and make her feel as safe as he feels when she’s near him. Her face is buried into his chest like she’s trying to block something out.

“Happy?” he says quietly, playing with her hair. “I’m alright now, okay?” He’s about to make a joke, but holds it back. He’s not twenty-five anymore – using humor to cope doesn’t work when you're getting ready to propose. He needs to get real. “I wasn’t then, but I’m okay now. I promise.” Still silence. “Are you okay?”

She nods against his chest.

“Okay,” he says. And he’s out of words for once, because he’s beginning to wonder if Happy coughed when he mentioned the showgirl for reasons other than annoyance.

After some short time, Happy lifts her head up. “You’re the first guy I’ve ever really – my first real boyfriend,” she says, and he wonders what words she choked off. “Which means I need to get used to talking about stuff and feeling things, don't I."

Toby nods. “Feeling things is normal, contrary to popular opinion.”

Happy finally manages a smile. “Don’t run when I start telling you things about me, okay?” she says quietly. And somehow she believes it, too, that there could be a chance that he would leave her for any reason other than she told him to go.

“Never,” Toby promises, playing with her hair. “Nothing you could tell me would make me stop loving you.”

She half scoffs. “You really think that, don’t you?”

“I know that,” he insists. “I’m in this for the long haul, Happy Quinn. And I’m going nowhere.”

She hesitates for a minute, and he’s worried that he scared her, went too far, but instead her smile grows to reach her eyes when she says, "For a first real boyfriend, you're a pretty decent guy, Doc."

Toby pouts. “I’m more than decent, right?” he jokes.

But she’s all serious tone and honest eyes when she replies, “You’re great.” She checks around the garage’s parking lot to make sure no one’s looking before standing on her toes and pressing the softest, sweetest kiss to Toby’s lips that this garage, that this world, has ever seen. He settles his hands on her lower back, trying his best to tell her that he’ll be her anchor, her home, her forever, if she just wants him to be. He’s jumping with anticipation to get out of here, to get the text saying that Happy’s one of a kind ring is ready for her. He’s ready to show Happy just how long term he’s thinking.

But it’ll take time, and he kisses back until they hear Cabe shout, “Walter, what the heck is this?!”

“Ooh, this’ll be good,” Toby says, grinning. A car pulls in by the door. “And methinks that’s the pizza for all us folks who weren’t poisoned by radiation today.” He leans in and kisses Happy’s cheek before he darts off.

He overtips the pizza guy and brings it in to the table where the rest of the team is looking in abject horror at the brown sludge Walter’s holding up.

Toby throws himself into a chair and opens up the pizza box. He figures that, with whatever Walter’s going to say, he might as well make it dinner and a show. He hands a slice to Ralph.

“Mr. O’Brien,” Toby says, gesturing with his pizza, “pray tell what that concoction is.”

“It’s a mixture of parsley, kale, onions, which contain vitamins and free radicals which will scavenge the nuclear radiation in our bodies,” Walter replies. Toby’s trying not to be too gleeful about the fact that he doesn’t have to guzzle down whatever that is, but instead gets to watch everybody else do it.

“That doesn’t sound too terrible,” Cabe says.

“And cod,” Walter adds. The look on Happy’s face is priceless.

“Oh boy,” says Sly.

“Which is also high in iodine,” Walter notes.

“Which is necessary,” Toby adds. “You didn’t get deadly exposure, but you got the equivalent of 3 full body cat scans in a day.” He gestures with his pizza again. “So bottoms up.”

He’s mostly insisting because of how annoyed everyone looks, especially Happy, whose wrinkled nose absolutely delights Toby.

“Oh, that looks awful. Painfully gross. I would be chugging it with you, but since Ralphie and I didn’t go to Chernobyl,” he and Ralph clink pizzas. Toby’s incredibly proud of the mildly smug grin on Ralph’s face.

“You better save me a slice, or this goes on your head,” Cabe deadpans. It’s scary enough that Toby hands him the full pizza box, regretting it immediately.

Happy leaves the table, and by the time she’s out of earshot, Toby leans over to Ralph. “So you know that ring I was telling you about?”

Ralph nods, his mouth full of pizza.

Toby leans closer. “I’m getting it tonight.”

Ralph’s eyes widen. “Tonight?!” he asks through a mouthful of pepperoni.

Toby nods. “Tonight,” he confirms. “And you’re in for your part of the proposal, right?”

Ralph nods. “Operation distract Happy by changing Mom’s oil and rotating her tires is a go.” He smiles at Toby. “Just tell me when and where.”

Toby ruffles his hair, and Ralph giggles. “You’re the best, kid.” He leans in closer. “Keep this up and you might make best man.”

“Really?” Ralph asks.

Toby nods, and he looks over to where Happy is gesticulating rather frenetically during a conversation with Walter. “Let’s just hope she says yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah. That "a showgirl there made me a man" line really hurt my heart and I really hope the Toby was an adult when that happened, otherwise I'm extremely sad and really hoping Toby feels safe now that he's an adult.


End file.
